NUMSA Strike Looks To Be Over, Seifsa Says Wage Agreement Reached

Since October 5, it is estimated that the steel and metal industry has lost more than R500 million in revenue. This as workers in the industry have been striking around the country for an 8% increase.
The Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of South Africa (Seifsa) announced that it has reached a ‘landmark’ wage agreement with The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA).
NUMSA, which represents more than 400 000 workers, called for a nationwide strike to commence in the early start of October 2021. NUMSA initially demanded a multi-year 8% increase across the board for the first year and CPI +2% for the second and third years. Seifsa’s initial offer was around 4.4%.
Seifsa CEO Lucio Trentini says the situation has had a major impact on the entire industry. This as the steel and metal industry lost more than half a billion rand while striking workers were not paid during the protests.
He said, “there is no doubt that this industry has suffered greatly over the last 12 days so this is a sorry situation where there are no winners and losers. we are all losers and we owe ourselves and this industry and our country a massive rejuvenation effort to try and claw back what we've lost”.
“We've also inflicted harm on sectors around us like the motor auto mining and construction industry because the engineering industry is a strategic industry that is a customer and supplier to all the key sectors of the economy. So when the engineering industry stutters and comes to a standstill, everyone in South Africa pty limited feels the effect of that” concluded Trentini.
Numsa said, ‘we have taken a conscious decision as a union we will compromise and accept the current offer from Siefsa at 6% on minimums for the sole purpose of settling the current strike in the best interest of our workers’.
NUMSA Spokesperson Phakamile Hlubi-Majola said, “The fact that Seifsa put a proposal of six percent last week is definitely in our view of positive development. It is very tragic though that it came at a great cost. You're talking about three weeks of no work no pay so workers and their families have really suffered during this period”.
Phakamile Hlubi-Majola has said that the decision that was made was supported by the majority of its members, even though there were members who objected.